Democratic Erosion University Course Student Blog

During the past demonstrations, the ruling party of Georgia – Georgian Dream – made violence their primary weapon in overcoming protest. This blog emphasizes how violence used by the state implies democratic backsliding in light of the theoretical framework by Levistsky and Ziblatt.

Repression on Repeat: From Kyiv to Minsk to Tbilisi   Last October, parliamentary elections were held in Georgia. Many considered them as important as a referendum because Georgian citizens were asked to choose between the ruling Georgian Dream, a Euroskeptic...

In Georgia and Serbia, populist elites shout about protecting “the People” from endless imaginary threats, masterfully staging a political circus of fear and chaos to secure their grip on power. Whether through Georgia’s slow, insidious erosion of democracy or Serbia’s dizzying whirlwind of perpetual crises, their endgame is the same: exhaust the public into apathy, ensuring the ruling elite stays comfortably unchallenged.